Meet the UEA lecturer and student who helped Norwich City Women win historic promotion to Tier 3 of women's football
By: Communications
While most students and lecturers are gearing up for the start of the new academic year, two members of the UEA community are gearing up for the biggest season of their football careers.
University of East Anglia (UEA) lecturer Millie Daviss and current student Lauren Hailes celebrated a historic win earlier this year as Norwich City Women (NCW) achieved promotion to Tier 3 of women’s football for the first time in their history.
Tier 3 of women’s football in England is the Women’s National League, which is one level below the Women’s Championship and two below the Women’s Super League.
As the 2026/27 season approaches, Millie and Lauren are getting ready to play in their highest ever league and reflect on their historic promotion.
Millie, a UEA graduate, postgraduate researcher and lecturer in Student Futures, Academic and Professional Education, who plays as a defender for NCW, said: “It was an incredible day, and one I will never forget for the rest of my life.
“It's such a great achievement for the club; to be part of the team's success means so much to me. I've been at Norwich since the 2016/17 season, and throughout my time at Norwich, we have frequently celebrated in a similar sense from avoiding relegation out of Tier 4, so it was nice to celebrate promotion.
“It was also an opportunity to commemorate the hard work previous players, staff, fans, family and friends have given before this moment, so it was really special.”
Lauren, a Physical Education, Sport and Health student and midfielder for NCW, said: “We worked so hard for this moment as a team, and it was so special to have that finally pay off and get the club to Tier 3.”
Julia Robathan, lecturer in Physical Education at UEA, said: “Thanks to UEA Sport’s Performance Programmes and the cluster of Physical Education, Sport and Health degrees offered at UEA, athletes like Lauren and Millie have been able to receive financial and logistical support for their sporting endeavours while studying and working in the pursuit of success in both sport and academia.”
Norwich City Women will play their first game of the 2026/27 season at home against Huddersfield Town on Sunday 16 August.
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